The owner of a luxury Manhattan fitness club, and the third largest backer of former president Donald Trump's Truth Social platform, is suing the landlord of his Hell's Kitchen location for $30 million in damages over what he says are potentially hazardous conditions in the building.
According to the Daily Beast, Patrick Walsh, who owns TMPL Clubs, claims he lost hundreds of members over flooding at the location, as well as frequent sewage odors.
The lawsuit describes frequent flooding at the location, and notes that the facility "smells of waste and feces after each flooding incident." TMPL blames the landlord for not addressing the issues, which have ruined the club's sound system, flooring and have led to at least one injury.
TMPL invested $7 million into the property after moving into the location back in June of 2021. Rent was around $125,000 per month.
The suit also claims that the water used to cool the facility's air conditioner was far too hot, which led to more problems.
“From June 2021 until June 2023, Landlord and its agents failed to resolve the condenser water and air conditioning issues,” the lawsuit states. “Landlord’s failure to resolve the condenser water and air conditioning issues over the course of two years caused many of Tenant’s customers to cancel their memberships. Tenant’s customers and former customers wrote many negative reviews referencing the air conditioning issue on various online platforms.”
The sewage problems started in September of 2021, following a long, hot summer.
“From 2021 through 2024, wastewater has continued to flood into the Premises from the Ejector Pit,” the suit alleges. “The flooding from the Ejector Pit endangers the health and safety of Tenant’s staff and customers. The flooding from the Ejector Pit could potentially cause a severe injury if one of Tenant’s staff or members is electrocuted.”
This isn't the first time TMPL has made headlines for legal issues. To former female employees sued the company,
claiming they weren't paid for their work, while former personal trainer filed a lawsuit alleging Walsh touched her inappropriately and sent her daily text messages that included dinner invitations.
Walsh’s lawyer in those cases previously told The Daily Beast that while they did not want to “try this case in the media” they were “confident that these claims will be dismissed and the allegations proven false.”
In the TMPL Hell’s Kitchen suit, Walsh’s company is demanding $10 million for breach of lease, $10 million for breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and $10 million for negligence.
